In brightest day, in blackest night, no comic book movie shall escape my sight!

Today's post is reblogged from our sister site, airhikec001.livejournal.com. This has been post-dated to coincide with the post date of the original, which was June 30th, 2011. - Kevin, January 31st, 2012



Green Lantern was a much-heralded comic book movie for the summer, and DC's only response to Marvel's 4 or so blockbusters. I was totally hyped when San Diego Comic-Con premiered this trailer, and I was rooting for it. A lot of money was on Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively to pull off the Emerald Avenger, and in my opinion, it didn't work.

Ryan Reynolds was supposed to be great as Hal Jordan. Unfortunately, he comes off as a guy who receives a great gift without having done anything to deserve it. He refuses the responsibility that comes with it, then has an odd change of heart that is barely developed -- then he somehow saves the day, and gets the girl. It's standard super hero fare that has little depth to it.

What makes it unique is the special effects. When Hal Jordan receives the ring, he's coated in a green sheen, as are all the corps on Oa, the planet that houses the Green Lanterns of every sector of the universe. Parallax serves as a mindless villain, as well as scientist Hector Hammond. Hector is a bit more carefully crafted; he's played up as a foil to Hal, both of whom had a difficult father-son relationship, except Hector's has more flesh to it.

All in all, I am disappointed with the Green Lantern movie. The comic books have been doing incredibly, and the movie did not meet that standard. Sinestro was the one character who felt real to me, because he was persistent in tracking Parallax, while Hal meandered his way to defeating a galactic threat and getting the girl. I think the movie could have been improved by putting a new emphasis on the Green Lantern Corps., not the one actor of Hal Jordan, but then again, I'm just a fan, not a director =/.

By Odin's Mangy Beard, it's -- A Summer of Comics!

Today's post is reblogged from our sister site, airhikec001.livejournal.com. This has been post-dated to coincide with the post date of the original, which was June 27th, 2011. - Kevin, January 31st, 2012

Hah! It's been too long since we chatted, LJ. Birthdays have gone by; weddings even -- funerals! So I'm taking the initiative and hitting you up again. We'll do some catching up on our lives and everything, but I want to start the summer off right, and that's with a bang!



It is the comic book nerd's summer as movies are released like rapid-fire for the sequential art books. The first one I'll do is -- The Mighty Thor! I watched the film in cinematic 2D and I had a blast. It's a great movie, but well, I'm a comic book fan, and it isn't a great comic book movie. What I mean by that is, it doesn't make me wanna read any more Thor comics.

The story gives some background on the colorful kingdom of Asgard, and then kicks it off as Odin sends his arrogant son, Thor, to Earth to learn some humility. Hilarity ensues when Thor awakes as a fish out of water. Natalie Portman plays Jane Foster, an astrophysicist who discovers Thor with her quirky assistant. Over the course of the film, Thor adjusts to Earth as Donald Blake and, in a rushed but believable ending, learns humility. Loki is played realistically and sympathetically as the "villain" of the story. You get the sense that, even when he disrupts all order in Asgard, Loki is still trying to garner the love of his father.

As one of Marvel's True Believers, I loved the Easter eggs in the film. Keen viewers will catch Stan Lee, as well as a Hawkeye cameo. The Destroyer Armor also appears as an enemy and a crucial part of Thor lore. There's a great scene after the credits, but, aherm, you didn't hear that from me.

It isn't overburdened by the cg, and there's a great balance between Asgard scenes and Midgard scenes. Humor comes off great, and there's plenty of explosions. If you're looking for a popcorn flick, look no further. I don't think it'll get you into the comics, but it'll sure give you the key facts.

NEXT: In Brightest Day! In Blackest Night! No evil shall escape his sight!
Beware his power, Green Lantern's light!

Free Comic Book Day 2011!

Get this, you guys. I went to my local Comix Revolution today, looking for the Spidey Sunday Spectacular. As it turns out, they didn't have it, so I just got the free Marvel Thor saga promotion deal-y, and an ad for Free Comic Book Day.

Free Comic Book Day! The ad was advertising Jeffrey Brown of Incredible Change-Bots fame, and that reminded me -- my local library had a copy of the first volume.

So I visited my local library, except - guess what - I didn't have my library card! So I used my state ID, and it was all good. When the librarian noticed the comics I was checking out (Batwoman: Elegy, Get Fuzzy treasury, Incredible Change-Bots), she also said that the library would be participating in Free Comic Book Day. Amazing!

That's all for my trip. Make your own and pay a visit to your local comic shop/library!

Where were YOU the day Johnny Storm died?

That's right folks; this week saw the death of the next Fantastic Four. How long it sticks, only Marvel knows. Did you get a chance to read the issue? If you have any thoughts, feel free to tell me about it.

ITEM! Free Comic Book day's released their Gold titles. Check it out here. Then come back here and check out my Wednesday haul.

I got two sequential art books today. One was 3.99, and the other was 3.50. Pleasingly, neither had any advertisements.

Amazing Spider-Man #648

by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos

This issue marks the debut of Dan Slott's solo captaining of the Spidey ship. And from the 39 pages, it sounds like he's charted a course. Spidey saves the day from Doc Ock (the new maniacal one from #600) and his new Sinister Six, and the following pages are a tour of Peter's new status quo: a new job in a laboratory, a new place and a bunch of new (and old) enemies with new schemes.

The thing is mostly set-up, but it's pretty smart. Slott has a wealth of things to tell; now he just has to tell them. My favorite part is how well Slott knows the Spidey stories, and how he'll bring 'em up, like when Peter calls Randy Robertson about asking to room again. Randy brings up a certain piece of cheese, rejecting Peter. There's this great sequence where Peter's quizzed by the lab workers, and all his answers are from his struggles against supervillains.
The second one's from the Paper Doll arc, and I'm assuming the first and third are pretty generic enough to be Spidey-knowledge. Peter gets a new job, and his path there is built by his past adventures. I think this describes the issue as a whole. #648 moves Peter forward while evoking his past stories. As a spider-fan, I can't think of a better way to start a run.

#652's already been released, and the arc starting with #648 is concluded, but I'm gonna try to buy each issue week by week, provided the shop has 'em.

Because I'm a tease like that.

Usagi Yojimbo #134

by Stan Sakai

You guys know my love for talking animals (check out We3, or Howard the Duck). When I was a kid, I remembered seeing Usagi Yojimbo on an episode of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so I figured I'd reach to a non-big 2 book.

I was lucky enough to run into this stand-alone story. Usagi runs into the fox, Kitsune, selling toad oil, which is rumored to cure any wound. Shenanigans ensue! It's a small story about a cunning fox who's out to grab her fair share. I plan on reading more.

In lieu of scans, a super-sweet 6-page preview. Have a great weekend.

Today's trade: JLA: The Lightning Saga

Are ya ready? It's time for another skull-cracking review of a collected sequential art book! I reviewed the first volume a while back, now here's its sequel:

Justice League of America vol. 2: The Lightning Saga

by Brad Meltzer, Geoff Johns, et al.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Collecting JLA #'s 0, 8-12 and JSA #'s 5-6. Renowned mystery novelist Brad Meltzer continues his revival of the JLA, collaborating with DC darling Geoff Johns. The first five chapters are the Lightning Saga, the next two are stand-alone stories.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It's always a bad sign when I start off with what I DIDN'T like. Let's start with the Lightning Saga. Each of its chapters introduces a Legionnaire (of the Legion of Superheroes fame), and has some kind of action sequence. We get practically no plot. Sure, we meet a new guy, and the other heroes do stuff, but nothing is compelling. For example, Batman and Geo-Force go to Arkham Asylum to save a Legionnaire, but I had no idea who everybody was, or why it even matters that Legionnaires are popping up in the present. Just that it's weird for them to be popping up (because they're from the future). That's all we ever know for 4 issues. I'm sorry, but that's just not good enough to drive a story! There's an enormous gravity given to the Legion, but nothing is done to support that.

Ultimately, you find out that they're in the present to bring back Flash (Wally West) from the dead. That's the last 10 pages of the whole storyarc -- why should I invest 5 issues in reading about a bunch of superheroes who aren't fleshed out attempt to bring back a hero I never read about? I thought this was the Justice League of America?

WHAT I LIKED: Aherm. Sorry 'bout that. The only worthwhile story is in JLA #11, titled "Walls." It follows Red Arrow and Vixen, after they've had a building topple on them. The panels and the art will make you feel claustrophobic -- and it's incredibly effective, given the topic.

Throughout the pages, we get this great picture of their physical and emotional journey to the surface, and the twist ending blew me away. The entire time, they thought that they had to dig up, but they were positioned upside down, and couldn't tell, because they were so jarred! Words can't describe it; check it out for yourself.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall, I had a bad taste after The Lightning Saga, but there were a few nice tidbits. In the first review, I talked about Meltzer getting in time for the individual League-ers, and he continues that here, fleshing out a relationship between Hawkgirl and Red Arrow, and addressing Vixen's insecurities.

Since I haven't brought up the artists, I'll do it here: the Lightning Saga called for a total of 4 different artists in 5 chapters, which is just a shame. Ed Benes was an unfortunate choice, as he can only draw two body types (man and woman). As a whole, the art was average at best. I don't recommend vol. 2 under any circumstances.